Combination display fan



Nov. 16, 1943. VALLONE 2,334,298

COMBINATION DISPLAY FAN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1942 h INVENTOR: Aura/we VALLONE b a arne Nov. 16, 1943. A. VALLONE v I COMBINATION DISPLAY FAN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1942 14 N TON/0 VALw/YE,

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Patented Nov. 16, 1943 UNITE-D;

ooMBlivA r'roN DISPLAY -FAN Antonio Vallone, New York, N, r. Application December 29, 1942, Serial No. 470,507

, 4 claims.

This invention relates to hand fans or ladies fans, and has for its main object to provide a fan of this type which" will have a novel esthetic effect. l

'The underlying idea of this invention is to arrange fragments of two desired designs or pictures on the leaves or elements of the fan in such a manner that upon the opening of the fan in one direction some of said fragments will show one certain design or picture, and upon the opening of the fan in the other direction, other fragments on the elements of the fan will showanother design or picture. By arranging fragments of two other designs or pictures on the rear of the said elements of the fan, and opening of the fan in two directons from the rear, said fragments on the rear thereof will add up into two more respective designs or pictures, so that my novel fan will be' adapted to display four different interesting designs or pictures upon the four different ways of opening and viewing the same.

An object of my invention is to provide a fan of the character indicated, which not only will have a novel esthetic effect but which also-may serve as an interesting amusement device, and will be particularly adapted for advertising purposes, displaying various pictures and slogans on the various openings and views of the same, thereby attracting the interest of the user to the matter desired to be advertised or publicised, and

' towards thedirection .of the center or pivot 42 aiding in fixing and retaining the matter in his memory. a I

Other objects of this invention will be apparent as the specification of the same proceeds, and,

among others, I may mentionzto provide a device as indicated hereinbefore, which will have a cation, and accompanying the same:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of my novel fan in a closed position, and

Fig.2 is a side view thereof Fig. 3 shows the fan of Fig. 1 man open position, the opening up having been executed in a left handdirection when looking atsaid figure:

Fig. 4 shows the fan in. an open position when the opening has been executed in the right hand direction looking down upon Fig. 1;

Figs. 5 and 7 are front and rear plan views, respectively, of one element or leaf in my novel fan, and 1 Fig. 6 is an end view thereof;

Figs. 8 to 12 show the upper or outer portions or heads of the five type of leaves used in the construction of my fan. l

Referring now to the drawings more in detail by characters of reference, the numeral 40 indicates my fan in general, beingcomposed, in the embodiment shown in the figures, of sixteen'individual leaves or radially arranged elements, being generally indicatedby numeral 31, and the individual'leaves being numbered 2| to 36.

Each individualelement generally has the construction indicated in Figs. 5 to 7, and they are made of an appropriate comparatively thin, but rigid stiff sheetlmaterialplike cardboard.

Each leaf or element?! hasan elongated main body 38 with the two sides 39 and 4| converging of the fan. Each. leaf is terminated around the pivot by a circular portion 43. I

The outer portion or head'44' of each leaf is somewhat wider than'the widest outermost end 38a of the main body, andhasthe two straight sides and 46, and the outer or top side l 'l, formed as an arcof a circle described from the pivot.

Each individual leaf may have the reinforcing and ornamental depressions 48 and 49, also formed as arcs of circles around the pivot 42.

Every leaf, with theexceptionof the two end ones, and the second when viewed in Fig. 3, as will be described hereinafter, shows a slot or incision 50, also formedon the lines of arcs of circles around said pivot, and another incision 5| by which an ear52 is separated from the material of'the leaf 31. a I

It also will be noted, however, that in theremaining thirteen leaves, aside of the mentioned three difierently constructed ones, the slots and ears 52, are placed alternately, the slot being on the' outer side, and the earin the inner side, in one leaf, and the same two devices being in a reverse order in the next one.

In Fig. 8, "I show, in a fragmentary manner, the outer or head portion of the first ortop leaf 2| as seen in Fig. 3. Said first or top leaf 2] Will have an ear 53 pointing upwardly, in a reverse direction as the one shown in Figs; 5 and 7, and being'arranged onthe inner side of'the head 44 nearer the center or pivot of the fan. no slot is provided in'said'firstor top leaf 2|. j The head or leaf 22, adjacent to said top one,

is shown in Fig. 3, and the same also is an exoep-- tion from the general construction of the leaves. this one not having any ear, but two slots 54 and 55, arranged adjacent to the inner and outer ends thereof, respectively.

The head of leaf 23 is indicated in Fig. 10, and it is one of the heads or tops of the average leaves used in my novel device, having a slot 56 arranged on the inner side of its head 44, and a downwardly pointing ear 51, arranged nearer to the outer circumference of the head.

In Fig. 11, the head of the next leaf 24 is indicated, which shows the top of the other, type of average leaves, having a slot 58 on the outer side,

and a downwardly pointing ear Q onthe inner side of its head 44.

The remaining average leaves, 25to', 35, are aland 24, respec ternately identical to leaves 23 tively.

As will be seen from the drawings, the leaves areassembled in sucha manner, that they may rotate around the pivot 42,'for which purpose they are secured together by a tubular rivet Bil at that place, eachhaving a hole 5| in the center of its circular lower end 43 for this purpose.

In the average leaves, every upper ear '5'! is passed through the upper slot in theleaf proceeding. the same; while everylower ear .59 is passed through the lower slot. 56 in the leaf in frontof it, as will be particularly observed in Fig. 3-, and aswill be obvious.

In this manner a sliding interconnection is provided between the heads on the adjacent leaves, so that the leaves may slide upon one another in a lefthanded 'or right handed-direction, as desired, rotatingl'on the'pivot 142, and the various ears sliding in the respectiveslots,thereby forming a. permanently connected secured but slidable chainiof the leaves.-

It-also will be observed that the ears'5land 59 are placed in about the center lines of the respective leaves, by which arrangement said leaves may move upon one another, half of their Widths only, in both, the left handed, and the right handed, directions. i

Leaf 22, as has been mentioned,has two slots, 54

and 55, and the ear 5! of the leaf 23 back of it,

will slide in the upper or outer slot 54,v while the upwardly pointing ear 53 of the first or front cover leaf -2l will slide in the lower slot'55 of said shows its fully open position after such a movement.-v

The fan also can be opened in an opposite, right handed direction, as indicated-by the arrow 63, in whichcase the, front or top. cover leaf 2| will move to the-right end of'the openorextended fan, and the lowermostrear or bottom cover leaf 36 will remain at the left end thereof, asis shown inFig.4.

When the fan is opened in aileft handed direction, to the position of Fig; 3, acertaindesign will appear at its exposed top, theone indicated-in said figure being in the form of a fivepointedblue colored star. 64, which is the emblem of i the United States Air Force. It is understood that portions of any other design orpicturegand in any other colors may be arranged on the leaves instead of portions of said five pointed star, and

the open fan will show that design or picture.

When the fan is opened in an opposite, right handed direction, as indicated in Fig. 4, in the embodiment shown, the picture of an airplane ranged.

By judicious arrangement of portions of the desired pictures on the left hand and right hand halves of the tops of the other respective leaves, the two pictures will be shown upon the right handed and left handed openings of the fan.

It also will beunderstood that fragments of two other pictures may be arranged on-the rear side of the leaf 24, as indicated in Fig. 7. On the left hand half 240 of it a portion 56 of the American flag is shown, while on the right hand half 24d, aportion 51 of the picture of an army tank is arranged, so that a right handed full opening of the fan, viewedfrom the rear side thereof, will develop the picture of the United States flag, while a left handed opening and view from the rear side of the fan will develop the picture of an army tank.

The open positions of the fan, viewed from the rear, are not shown in the drawings since they would be identical with Figs. 3 and 4, respectively, with the exception that leaf 36 will then be the top one, at the left, and leaf 2 I will then be the last one, at ,the right, the arrangement of the intermediate, leaves being the reverse, and; of

course, the two pictures shown will be. different. i The pictures of the flag, and the tank, respec' tively, will be'shown when the fan is fully opened in the respective directions, as will be obvious,

andthey are not fully shown, as mentioned, for

the sake of simplicity and clearness in the draw,

lugs, and notbeing needed. w

It, alsowill be obvious that additional ornaments maybe arranged in fragments on both faces of the fan, like :the blue circular portions it] around the pivot 42, and that the heads 44,

and other parts may be colored differently to.

will smoothly slide into its open or closed positions, and, by the described manipulations, may show four different pictures.

My fan isnot'only useful for the purpose of a usual fan, but it isyin "a Way, an interesting plaything, and may be used for advertising, and

propaganda, or purposestof pub1icity,.by .arrariging various pictures and slogans on the faces 7 thereof, to be developed by-its various openings, thereby producing four striking independent ef fects upon the four waysof manipulating the fan.

I also may'have two or more fans of my i'n vention in combination, as, for instance, in a show window display'ina business, in which the various fans, one backiof'the other,'ar'e. continually moved in rightrhand or left hand direc'-'.

tions, only one being operated at one time'andtor, or other device, appropriately controlled, re-

versed, or stopped, as necessary.

What I claim as new, is:

1. In a fan having a plurality of flat individual leaves of substantially identical contour, rotatable on a, pivot at the one end of said leaves, so

that they may be closed one upon the other, only the top one showing, or they may be opened in a right handed or left handed direction, the leaves having alternate outer, respectively inner, ears separated from their material, and inner, respectively outer, corresponding transverse slots, each ear being adapted to slide in the slot of an adjacent respective leaf, whereby said leaves may rotate'on said pivot, and at the same time may be interconnected and slide one upon the other, said slots covering the widths of the leaves, with the exception of intact end portions, and said ears being arranged substantially in the center lines of said leaves, so that said leaves may be opened in each direction to one half of their widths only, whereby at least one half of the widths of the leaves will be overlapping in every position of the fan; fragments of two designs or pictures arranged on the respective right and left half of the exposed surface of each leaf, whereby upon the opening of the fan in one direction one full design will be completed and shown, and upon the opening of the fan in the other direction, the other design or picture will be completed and displayed.

2. In a fan having a plurality of flat individual leaves of substantially identical contour, rotatably on a pivot at the one end of said leaves, so that they may be closed one uponthe other, only the top one showing, or they may be opened in a right handed or left handed direction, each a1- ternate leaf having an outer, respectively an inner, ear separated from its material, and an inner, respectivelyxouter, corresponding trans-' verse slot, each ear being adapted to slide in the slot of an adjacent respective leaf, whereby said leaves may rotate, and at the same time may be interconnected and slide one upon the other, said slots covering the widths of the leaves, with the exception of intact end portions, and said ears being arranged substantially in the center lines of said leaves, so that said leaves may be opened in each direction to one half of their widths only, whereby-at least one half of the widths ofthe leaves will be overlapping in every position of the fan, fragments of two designs or pictures arranged on the respective right and left half of the exposed surface of each leaf, whereby upon the opening of the fan in one direction one full design will be completed and shown, and upon the opening of the fan in the other direction, the other design or picture will be completed and displayed, fragments of two further designs or pictures arranged in the respective right hand and left hand halves of the rear surfaces of the leaves, so that on a left handed or right handed opening of the fan, and viewing the same from the rear, two further designs or pictures will be displayed,

3. In a fan having a plurality of flat individual leaves of substantially identical contour, rotatably on apivot at the one end of said leaves, so that they may be closed one upon the other, only the top one showing, or they may be opened in a right handed or left handed direction, each a1- ternate leaf having an outer, respectively an inner, ear separated from its material, and an inner, respectively an outer, corresponding transverse slot, said ears being adapted to slide in the slots of the adjacentrespective leaves, whereby said leaves may rotate and at the same time may be interconnected and slide one upon the other, said slots covering the widths of the leaves, with the exceptionof intact end portions, and said ears'.being arranged substantially in the center lines of said leaves, so that said leaves may be opened in each direction to one half of their widths only, whereby at least one half of the widths of the leaves will be in overlapping relation in every position of the fan, and reinforcing transverse indentation in said leaves adjacent to said ears and said slots.

4. In a fan having a plurality of fiat individual leaves of substantially identical contour, rotatably on a pivot at the one end of said leaves, so

i that they may be closed one upon the other, only the top one showing, or they may be opened in a right handed or left'handed direction, each alternate leaf having an outer, respectively an inner, ear separated from its material, and an inner, respectively an outer, corresponding transverse slot, each ear being adapted to slide in the slot of an adjacent respective leaf, whereby said leaves may rotate and at the same time may be interconnected and slide one uponthe other, said slots covering the widths of the leaves with the exception of intact end portions, and said ears being arranged substantially in the center lines ;of said leaves, so that said leaves may be opened 

